


Gold Dust

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-09-28 10:04:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10090451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Goldmist leaves something behind the first time he visits the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur.





	

Goldmist shivered as his hooves crunched in the thick, icy snow that coated this abominable valley. Louisa didn’t take him here much, not since she’d purchased a North Swedish mare who could withstand the cold better. And honestly, Goldmist didn’t mind that he’d been neglected in this aspect.

“How can you stand it here?” he asked his rider, galloping as fast as the cold would let him up a snowy slope. There seemed to be a frozen path here, though Goldmist couldn’t imagine what kind of people would want to live here.

“It’s pretty,” said Louisa, though she also shivered and wore thick clothing. “And interesting. Don’t you think it’s interesting?”

“I’d much rather learn about it from books, if that’s okay with you,” said Goldmist. His rider laughed and continued on up the slope.

The slope ended at a large, open space. Goldmist knew that his rider was looking longingly at those huge doors. She’d told him about them so many times. She hoped that they would open one day. If they led to a warmer climate, perhaps Goldmist would come with her.

“Hi, Nanook and Sedna,” Louisa called, and Goldmist trotted over to the two strange-looking Kallter people. Their strange horses were a mix of intrigue and suspicion at the newcomer.

“Hello, friend Louisa,” said Nanook. “Have you come to collect more things for us?”

“Yep, what do you need?” asked Louisa. Goldmist noticed that she was looking longingly at the strange horses of the Kallter people.

“Icenthistle and Kallstone,” said Nanook.

“And Icenberries, Icechestnuts, Ice Squirrels, and Ice Pearls. Also fur pelts and anything interesting you can find,” Sedna added in her quiet, stilted Jorvegian.

“Will do,” said Louisa, giving her a smile. She turned Goldmist back down the slope, and he huffed.

“They always ask for those things,” said Goldmist. “Why do you have to visit them first?”

“Because they might not need any,” said Louisa.

“It seems like a waste of time,” said Goldmist.

“Yeah, I know, but it’s how everything around here works,” said Louisa. She squeezed her legs, indicating for Goldmist to jump down into a frozen forest, but he refused.

“There is a perfectly usable path down this way,” said Goldmist, his hooves finding the small path that had probably been made by the Kallter horses. He’d spotted it on the ride in.

“I never saw this path,” said Louisa. Goldmist nickered.

“At least one of us was paying attention, my dear,” said Goldmist. While she dismounted and walked around collecting the strange plants and crystals, Goldmist shuffled his hooves in an attempt to keep warm. The sooner they got out of here, the better. His thoughts drifted back to the warm stable, with plenty of hay and more than enough room for the six horses housed there.

Louisa finally collected up enough of the things and returned to her horse, mounting him and letting him find the path back up to the main road. He tried to push himself to go faster this time, knowing that they could go back home to a warm stable after the things had been handed in.

“Thank you for collecting these things, friend,” said Nanook, carefully putting the thistles and crystals away.

“You’re welcome,” said Louisa. “Can I buy things from you yet?” Nanook chuckled.

“Not yet, I’m afraid,” said Nanook. “You will still have to do tasks for us for a few days. And for a few weeks, if you would like one of our fjord horses.”

“Is it that obvious?” asked Louisa, blushing. At least it warmed her face.

“Yes,” said Nanook, laughing. “But you seem like a good rider and a trustworthy person, so I would be more than happy for you to have one when the time is right.”

“Ah, Nanook?” Sedna called, and then said something in the language of the Kallters.

“Oh,” said Nanook, turning back to Louisa after a brief conversation with the Kallter woman. “Louisa, our weather-sensitive horse has informed us that a large snow storm is imminent.”

“A weather-sensitive horse?” asked Louisa, intrigued.

“Louisa, focus,” Goldmist chided.

“Well, you won’t have time to exit the valley in time, so I might as well tell you about it,” said Nanook. Goldmist felt his dreams of a warm stable get covered by the snow of the oncoming snow storm. That wasn’t fair. His first time here, and he had to stay overnight.

“Oh, really? Darn,” said Louisa, echoing her horse’s disappointment.

“Come inside the watchtower and I will tell you,” said Nanook. “Your horse will have to stay behind, though. But don’t worry, Sedna will stable him with our horses.”

“Yes. Come, steed,” said Sedna, carefully taking Goldmist’s reins after Louisa dismounted. The Kallter woman led Goldmist over to a shelter, while Nanook took Louisa over to the watchtower. Once inside, the Kallter man lit a fire in a small fireplace and began to prepare a hot drink and hot meal for her, getting her some blankets while the water boiled and the meal began to cook.

Meanwhile, Goldmist was surrounded by inquisitive fjord horses.

“Hello,” said Goldmist, wondering if they could understand him.

“Hello,” said a mare, stepping closer to him.

“You can speak Jorvegian?” asked Goldmist.

“Of course,” said the mare. Her lovely, pale golden coat reminded him of warmth and sunlight. “It would get terribly lonely if we did not learn how to speak the language of the native horses.”

“She is the most fluent,” said a stallion in the group. “Do not expect all of us to be able or willing to converse with you, stranger.”

“Well, I suppose that I will just have to spend time with you,” said Goldmist. The mare dipped her head, then looked at him sweetly. Goldmist had always thought that he was a little too old for flirting and relationships, but now…

 _“You met someone? Woo, go get her, Goldie!”_ Louisa cheered in his mind.

 _“You’d better stay out of my head,”_ Goldmist chided her. He felt his rider acknowledge this, and then her presence once more faded into the background. Goldmist was glad. Especially when the mare (Morningflower, her name turned out to be) led him away from the larger herd.

The pair returned to the herd afterwards, even though everyone knew what they’d done. Goldmist would have felt ashamed if he wasn’t so enamoured by the mare. He snuggled up to her and they nuzzled, sleeping together in the large, warm herd of fjords and exactly one Jorvik Warmblood.

Goldmist was sad to leave the herd the next morning, but Louisa wasn’t allowed to buy a fjord just yet. When she was allowed to buy one, however, Morningflower was not there. Louisa inquired about her, but Nanook and Sedna were oddly secretive. Goldmist hoped that she hadn’t died.

One year after he’d first set hoof into the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur, Goldmist once more slowly galloped up the old, frozen path towards the grand gates. And there, he almost stumbled.

“Louisa, so good that you got our message,” said Nanook. “I thought that it would never reach you, with the mail service in the valley being so… sporadic.”

“We also had to wait for the right time,” said Sedna. “For the people at the campsite to be asleep. We did not want to be detected.”

“Nic’s harmless,” said Louisa.

“We were more concerned about the woman,” said Sedna.

“Ah,” said Louisa. “Elsa. I completely understand. She’s a little full-on.”

“Yes, well, you are here now, and that is what matters,” said Nanook.

“Yeah, what did you want to talk to me about?” asked Louisa.

“I’ll get them,” said Sedna. She walked away, and returned with the sound of crunching snow. Almost as though…

Goldmist had to restrain himself from bolting over to Morningflower, but Louisa dismounted and he trotted over instead. She nuzzled him and he nuzzled her. She still smelled sweet.

“Do you know anything about this?” asked Nanook, though he didn’t look or sound angry. He sounded amused as he gestured to the foal that stood next to the fjord mare.

“Well, I didn’t make him do that,” said Louisa.

“He’s your son,” said Morningflower, knowing that only Goldmist could understand her. “Our son. I named him Golddust, in memory of you.”

“When mist is gone, dust is left in its wake,” said Goldmist, speaking only to her. They nuzzled again. “Louisa wanted to buy you that day.”

“It’s probably for the best that she didn’t,” said Morningflower. “She only knows how to look after normal horses, not pregnant mares.”

“She knows to separate the mares from the stallions when they’re in season,” said Goldmist. “Uh, not that your people didn’t, I just meant-“

“I know,” said Morningflower. “The Kallters let their horses roam free, for the most part. In the wild, magic can happen. It is how we get our Stormwarner foal every few years. The magic of the wild.”

“That’s fascinating,” said Goldmist. “Louisa has a few fjords in her stable now, but none of them speak about their culture. Her Stormwarner gelding does sometimes, but not often. And he’s never told us as much as you have just now.”

“I think she’s going to take me home today,” said Morningflower, looking at the three humans.

“I hope so,” said Goldmist. “I think she can afford to take home both of you.”

“Our son looks like you,” said Morningflower, looking at the little creature next to her. Goldmist looked at his son too, amazed that something so precious had come from such a freezing cold night.

Just as Goldmist and Morningflower had hoped, Louisa returned back to the stables with a brand new fjord and a little colt. The Kallters had asked her to train him, which she was a little nervous about. But Goldmist was just glad to have his family. He’d never really had one of those before.


End file.
